The Problematic of the Unproblematic

Joo Sang-wook in a romcom! I'm DEAD! I am a huge fan of his, but have had quite some issues with some of his drama choices. I did watch Good Doctor (*shudders*), but without subs and lots of fastforwarding, almost threw up over Paradise Ranch (dropped immediately), got a melo-rash over Thorn Birds (dropped immediately), and fell asleep every time I tried Feast of the Gods (dropped immediately). Thank goodness for the TEN Series, but they are not everybody's cup of tea. Anyway, Joo Sang-wook in a romcom seems like a dream come true, so I decided to do a briefcap of the first episode of this. Anyway ... this drama is off to a great start! (and continues awesome , too) I sat there with a huge grin on my face for at least the first half. It's completely over the top in almost everything it does, but it works.

kakashi: We're entering the 2nd half of this drama ... and it seems we're over the slightly confusing gang-war bits and the all-the-side-characters-we-loved-are-gone-or-dead-or-we-do-not-know suspicion. This episode? Simply AWESOME!!! If the show ever slightly lost its footing, or maybe stumbled a veeery little, it is definitely over it. Love. JoAnne: Hand me a napkin, please. Kim Hyun Jooooooooong! Love means never having to apologize for drooling. kakashi: hahahaha.  

Shuk:  Yay!  We are finally back to South Korea, the country with the hottest icecream I know! JoAnne:  Braaaaaaaaaaains

Overall, this is a satisfactory episode. People get their power back and important decisions are made. The absolute highlight for me was the exposure of the MILDragon as the monster she actually is - and the whole getting-her-power-back thing for Ji-hyun. I am glad she got the character development she deserved ... we had to wait for it for too long!

This episode is a total winner! Finally, we're over that annoying noble-idiocy vs. bitch-deluxe bit and Oh-boy can steam ahead with his love-bulldozer powers. The cuuuuuute is back!!! Sure, sure, there's a few road blocks left ... mainly in the form of ex-husband Han Joon-mo (I KNEW he wasn't entirely gone, this guy is like an annoying chewing gum that sticks to your shoe), but hey, that weakling? No big deal for Oh kyung-soo aka The Bulldozer of Love. As for the rest ... yeah, some things are moving. Slowly.

Shuk:  Our couple is reenacting the Warring States Period, and I do hope things thaw quickly.  They are too adorable to stay mad for long.  I hope.  [rubbing lucky rabbit's foot][Wait, it wasn't lucky for the rabbit] JoAnne:  Between you and rabbits and Grannie's ummm forcing...I don't think it will take long.

JoAnne: Since much of this episode includes someone I would prefer to ignore, commenting is difficult!

kakashi: The " hostage episode " has been released and $846 of $100,000 or $250,000 (depending on what paragraph you read) have been fund-raised. Frankly, I do not understand why people do not donate more, cause the awards you get for it? Stellar. JoAnne: I'm looking for the option where they pay ME for having paid attention at all. $5: Name in the credits as an episode sponsor. Claimed once. Alternatively, the cast will wish you good karma through the BbF website. Surprisingly, this has been claimed zero times. JoAnne: Anything they wished you would come late, look ridiculous, and not work as promised. Be careful what you say: they are now suing people.  

The last episode left us with Mike and the wrong woman.  I hope he scrapes her off and clings to his best chance for happiness! JoAnne: Scrape is good. She's like mold.  Ruins everything.  Shuk:  Also, I need to apologize for the quality of gifs and screencaps.  I was unable to find a clean copy of episode 11, so I'm splicing from various sources.

Shuk:  Due to circumstances, our contract married pair have to spend a lot more time together and a lot more skinship, even if it's medically related.

JoAnne: We may be alone in our love for this show soon, Kakashi. It seems lots of fans are upset to lose their oppas and don't understand how a grown up man in one country might be surrounded by different people than he was as a boy in another. I'm still here, Show! Yes, I miss some of the pretties that are gone... but I'm ok. Tell me a good story! Despite the squeeing, that's all I really want from you. kakashi: I've always liked to be in love with things that others don't appreciate. It makes me feel special. But ... I heard just now that Song Jae-rim might also no longer be part of the cast?! Come on! How many more awesome characters will we have to mourn, show?!

JoAnne This is an important episode...The Change is here. I am so nervous! kakashi: I dub it the "Bodysnatcher" episode. It's alright, don't you think? There's no easily discernible change. At least not visually. They still fight. It's still complicated. JoAnne: We just had different people to miss, as far as I was concerned. Still felt the same otherwise!

Shuk:  We continue the honeymoon in Seoul, where our two souls are learning each other.  And this can only be a good thing before real life intrudes. JoAnne: Get to know each other really well.  You should learn to recognize each other by feel in the dark, in case there's some sort of emergency and you get lost in a crowd in a cave. It could happen. EPISODE 9 Shuk:  So the two of them stare at each other, trapped in a huge fluffy yellow tube.  There is a charged moment, and then KA-WHAM. Om-Am headbutts him out of the blanketroll. JoAnne: Not the choice I would have made, Om-Am.

Shuk:  Oh the cute!!  Oh the feels! This show is just too awesome for words.  Unless you are SqueeCapping, LOL. JoAnne:  Because we have words.  Oh yes, we do.

Good! Thank you, show, for not dragging this stupid noble idiocy/bitch-deluxe story out any further: it was long enough. Thank you for giving Sun-mi some dignity back, though it's probably too late to redeem her. Thank you for making Oh Kyung-soo say out loud what we have all been thinking: Jung-wan is a silly-billy fool. All that said, this was a rather weak episode - lots of bits and pieces that seem rather fillery. But that's complaining on a high level, really.

The first time I watched Panda and Hedgehog I was 2 years into my kdrama addiction and I came away with an initial impression of cute and candy, dreamy lighting and dreamboat actors and all those delicious looking pastries. I also wrongly attributed this light and fluffy romcom with TvN (which I’m thankful for because it led me to the wonderful world of cable) but I feel I should apologize to channel A. I’m a little hesitant to watch it again because … well … experience. JoAnne: I think it was a year or two for me, too! I'm on year 3 or 4 now...I never remember. Anyway, why don’t we get started? The episode 1 opener... light’s all fuzzy so this must be a flashback. A little boy is drawing colorful cakes on the sidewalk. A little girl wearing a tshirt with a panda drawn on it is looking at cakes and singing this strange little song. JoAnne:  Someone draws very well for their age.  Great illustration skills, really solid.

Oh my god, I am SO ANGRY. Seriously!!!! This episode broke my heart in the middle (he cries!!!!), and then, just as there seemed some hope for betterment at the end, the greedy bitch made another dirty move. WTF! BUUUUUUUUURN! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! The only one finally getting some kind of (very mild) positive character development is Ji-hyun - a welcome change. For her sake, I'm looking forward to episode 14. For Oh Kyung-soo and Jung-wan's sake, not so much ... that is before I saw episode 14. Haha, well, this is 13, and 13 gave me rage fits. Here we go.

Shuk:  We have had some real moments of empathy between our couple, as well as some pretty fierce arguments. But as long as there is no outside influence, circumstances will bring them closer. After all, can a woman understand a man without washing his undies?  And can a couple share a bathroom without sharing their hearts? JoAnne:  I can think of much better things to share.

Shuk:  Poor Mike, his little heart stomped into pieces by that hussy.  She's not clueless to his emotions but, unlike Guy, she never comes right out and tell him it won't work. And that's the worse sort of woman, so I'm glad he is on his way to scraping Mintra off.

Shuk:  Our couple is finally sharing space, and I am a happy viewer. JoAnne:  me tooooooooo

Shuk:  Mike has requested Om-Am to meet him!  Was it love at first sight?  Does his heart go "degeun degeun" (or the Thai equivalent) when she enters his sphere.  Stay tuned! JoAnne:  How does she get around? No car. I know. It's not really the point, but these are things I think about.

JoAnne: Until they say they're done, I'm sticking with this. I have to see how deep the delusion goes. kakashi: It's a bottomless hole. It's pretty amazing.  "Episode 6" JoAnne: Supposedly, this episode is done. Ready for our viewing pleasure, however loosely you define that word. But we aren't going to get to see it for a while. The Williams sisters instead sent out an apology 'because of circumstances' and then a plea 'give us money!' What the everloving hell. kakashi: They're withholding their master piece from us, JoAnne! No pleasure until you pay!

Shuk:  Our favorite couple finally meet, face to face and sober! Let the shenanigans begin! JoAnne:  This is ridiculous. I already love them. Is it because I know what's coming, or are they just really THAT CUTE?

kakashi: Hm, interesting. This episode was still made under the old crew (or wasn't it?!), but it does feel like a new chapter. Shanghai is very different from the rural world of Shineuiji, not only visually: it gives off a completely different vibe. The stakes? Much higher. Our hero? Definitely grown up. There's so many new characters that we are introduced to, and new relationships, good ones and bad ones, that we must learn to understand. This is like starting into this drama all over! JoAnne: It's the drama within the drama!  I'm sad to lose so much of what we loved, but this new stuff looks pretty interesting, too. I don't like the new ending music, though.

Shuk:  Our first episode gave us the introductions to several of the main characters, but now we can look forward to the rest!  For those familiar with the “Full House” franchise, you might be confused with the number and age of the actors shown in the opening credits.  But not worry; all will be revealed. Shuk:  Also, a correction from the first SqueeCap.  Google Fu revealed that Oom, the pregnant biatch, is in fact her cousin, and not her sister.  Which explains both their still-family bond and the reason Oom is neither on the house title or painted on the outside wall. JoAnne:  I just figured she was a life-long friend.  Cousin makes more sense for why she's not in jail. Bitch.

kakashi: Two more episodes with the old team of writers and two more episodes without "less violence". I'm so in. And hey, even if the new head-writer destroys this drama (that's a possibility), I still say: 9 (or possibly 10) incredibly good episodes, that's more than I got from many, many other KDrama. Let's not be greedy! Embrace it while it's still good! And if it turns bad ... drown our sorrows in alcohol. JoAnne: I'm drinking already at today's news. Have you heard? New writer in, Kim Jae Wook out. I think they (or he) decided his character arc wouldn't get enough attention. We've been sort of complaining about the lack of favorites every other episode... Tightening up might not be bad, but damn. No Kim Jae Wook? I was waiting for that bromance! Yo! Mo? Whoaaaaaaaa.   kakashi: Shiiiiiiiit! That's some major WTFuckery ... I guess we'll never know what made him do it, but my guess is KJW felt neglected. Happens with such a larg...

Shuk:  Hello everyone!  This new adaptation of the manhwa "Full House" comes from Thailand. Yes, the land of the slap-slap-kiss revenge lakhorn.  Only it plays out very much like the manhwa, and is similar in tone to the 2004 KBS2 version starring Rain and Song Hye-kyo.  Already 10 episodes with English subs have been posted on Viki. Shuk: It's a good dose of cuteness that I need right now, as You From Another Star heads for the end [sob], noble idiocy permeates Can We Love [grrr], and the writers flip at Age Of Feeling [nervous]. JoAnne:  Me: yah!  Give me cute!  Show:  Here you go! EPISODE 1 Shuk:  In a typical boardroom, where movers and shakers hang out, a contract is signed. The famous music idol Mike D'Angelo, has been farmed out for Public Relations work in Korea.  His Management CEO is a bit nervous about his condition, but his handler gives the nod.

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, it’s here! The shoe! It’s dropped! And it was THAT shoe! The one we all feared and the one we didn't want. But as much as I HATE it, it’s still fairly well done in terms of dramatic tension. This view might be unpopular, but I’ve always had issues with too much happiness on TV: it tends to bore me after a while. Things are shaken up big time in this episode, and, as I find, in an interesting way. Let's see where the new lies will take us. Not far, I'm sure. I am fairly confident that this drama will continue to deliver what it has delivered so far: human beings who are like you and me. Human beings that struggle with things, but also overcome them.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a man as much in love as Oh Kyung-soo and all the signs point in one direction. He is so giddy with joy when she is near him, and even giddier when she is in his house! I hear some bells ringing! But just when we thought we're safe, we're not ... Let's not talk about the preview just yet, because that's not what's happening in this episode, but since we've all seen it, we also know that happy-time is over soon. Poor Jung-wan ... I hope luck comes her way sooner rather than later. By the way, how many episodes does this drama have?

kakashi: I like this new marketing idea, which I guess is called "it's ready when it's ready". Why stick to a broadcasting schedule when you don't have to, right? It's a really smart way to make people anticipate something they usually give a wet rat's ass about. [bwahaha] Around the normal air time (which, I think, used to be Thursdays?), people all around the world started asking themselves: "Will we get to see another episode of the USBoFiasco or not? And if yes, WHEN will we get to see it?" Shuk:  Hey everyone!  Just me, snark-bombing this mess.  Because, why not, it can't make it worse, right? [shifty eyes]

A few months ago, I was struggling to condense my thoughts about Jung-Yi: Goddess of Fire into a coherent evaluation. After enduring all 32 episodes I felt like I owed it to myself to write something about it, but I was getting nowhere, and on impulse I started watching Padam Padam... The Sound of His and Her Heartbeats as avoidance. Padam Padam was in my queue because I had recently seen the film The Good, The Bad, and The Weird , and had been intrigued by Jung Woo-Sung (who played The Good), but I discovered immediately that his costar in Padam Padam was none other than Kim Bum, whom I had just seen in GoF . Not long after that I realized that another show in my queue, That Winter, the Wind Blows , was also a Kim Bum drama, and an idea was born to watch them all back-to-back and review them together, along with Boys Over Flowers , which I watched more than a year ago but never wrote about. In the interest of completeness, I even added The Woman ...

Show is picking up speed at a pretty steady space and like Kakashi, I'm starting to brace myself for the body count to rise. Since there are so many people we love, this can only be a painful journey. Bring me chocolate, someone... although I think that by the end of NEXT week only booze will suffice. kakashi: This episode killed one of my favorites (even THE favorite?). I've watched it four times ... I cried once. I cried twice. I cried a third time and then, I fast forwarded through that scene the fourth time, cause I didn't want to cry again. But I still cried. So I really, really love this show and I really, really hate it right now. 

JoAnne: I don't know about you, but I could not WAIT for it to be Wednesday. I watched this episode for the first time when it was at about 1% subbed, which means every time someone entered a room and said hello, they put that sub on the screen. kakashi: Yes, I watch this raw, of course. That either means I really, really like a show, or it means I really, really hate a show. When I really, really like a show, I watch it once raw, once subbed, and once to do gifs and screencaps. when I really, really hate a show, I watch raw AND fast forward to be exposed to it as little as possible. JoAnne: And then I wrote what you will see is a book, because I couldn't bear to skim over anything. Sorry. Not really. kakashi: When JoAnne writes a book-length SqueeCap, it's either because she is delirious with fever (happened last year with an epic Heirs recap ) or because she's delirious with love. (It's love.)

Some people are getting very, very annoying and I felt the urge to throttle them in this episode, or alternatively, smack them. Hard. The worst is probably her husband, the selfish bastard. Watch me curse him below. Lucky for us, Oh Kyung-soo is not rattled by anything. Whenever a new obstacle presents itself, he analyzes it cool-headed, and then advances to remove it systematically. I am determined to learn from this character and be just like him from here on out.

This show ... it makes me laugh and it makes me cry and it keeps me amazed at how it never does what I expect from it. There are (at least) two very unusual things in the Can We Love universe: one, secrets last a few days at the most; they all come tumbling out. Two, people (at least some of them) deal with their issues by talking to each other. Wow. Ah, of course, there's the third thing: every single male character is nice. Genuinely nice. No skeletons in the closet! Also, at this point in the drama: no dropping shoes for the OTP. Maybe I should stop waiting for them to drop. Maybe they will be no dropping shoes. Is that even possible?

A-k-a Episode 0 JoAnne: This appears to have been a mix of previously unused footage, where the cast members appear in a 'confessional room' a la MTV's Real World and share their feelings. Sadly, this has been the best acting we've seen from any of them. For those who were already not bad, the acting approached the level of professionalism you'd expect from a non-amateur production. For those who were not good... they got better and suddenly became likeable people, but it wasn't great. kakashi: OMG what is this?! You should have warned me. Yeah, sure, the acting was alright, but .......... WTH am I watching?! Quick, make unseen, make unseen!!!!!

kakashi: Things are starting to go really bad for Jung-tae in this episode ... I guess this is the beginning of a lot more to come. And it's going to hurt. His obsession with finding his sister is getting him into all kinds of trouble and he is losing allies left and right. The upside: there is Cutie Soo in uniform. And there is Leader Mo, being wacky-delicious-dangerous. A shame he lives in another city - cause that probably means we will not see him all that often. JoAnne: Perhaps this will trick us and turn out to be a forced-cohabitation drama and all the pretty men will be roomies?  Who shower a lot? kakashi: Oh ..... *lost in thought*. I would like that. If it doesn't happen, we'll write an alternative version for you all, right? There's not enough fanfiction on this blog.